ONIONS for collecting flu virus

hey people i just got a very interesting e-mail



For what it's worth............if nothing else, this is interesting......

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that
visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.
Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.
The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was
very healthy.
When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different
the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the
rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor
couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and
placed it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did
this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed
the virus, therefore, keeping the family healthy. Now, I heard this
story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several
years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so
were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls
with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff
got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion
business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls
around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your
office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see
what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu. If this
helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If
you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case.. Whatever, what have
you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ummm...you can't see a virus under an optical microscope and a quick lookup shows that the first prototype for an electron microscrope wasn't built until 1931.

Story is bunk.

[edit on 10/30/2009 by EnlightenUp]

Protip, it took scanning electron microscopes to see a virus. The ldea that a doctor back then could see a virus is preposterous. This single fact alone leaves no credibility for anything else in that story.
The first electron microscope prototype was built in 1931 by the German engineers Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll.
This is long after your story.

Sorry, hope I wasn't too harsh

But what if the belief that the onions were working kept the virus away or somehow protected the believers ? Sure , can be proved to be a scam.However the mind works in mysterious ways .....

reply to post by madmax8

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Hi madmax8/

I'm not going to get into the 'miroscope' debate, but I have used cut up onions around the home for colds and flu like symptoms, and it actually does work...also a dish with vinegar is good for picking up odours from smoke and pollutents in the air!
It doesn't cost much to try and it certainly cannot do anyone any harm...unless one does not want to smell of onion!

Nice post,
thank you for sharing!

ICXC NIKA
helen

We were talking about this the other day at work. The same story was shared about cutting up onions. Also, remember a couple of months ago when, an advertisement ran on T.V about insoles that you put in your shoes that absorbed toxins out of your body? Come to find out that the active ingredient is onion powder.

reply to post by madmax8

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A belief in the effectiveness of `flu absorbing onions`,might be all that is needed, in this case, to boost the immune system .
Someone seems to have added a back story to the ritual in an attempt to give it a veneer of science .

We cue our body's to heal with the sights, smells and general expectations that we are going to get better with a visit to our doctor .
White lab coats , stethoscopes , the strong smell of disinfectant etc ....all lend themselves to our expectations . These are our bodys `cues` to heal (in western culture).


Placebo is not a dirty word .
Though the pharmaceutical companies would like us believe such.


The onions aren`t doing anything , but there is a `meaning response` from the individuals which may have a physiological or psychological effect on their health.
Research on the subject of placebo/meaning response is fascinating to say the least , but it will require a shift in approach by the medical establishment if it is to be fully utilised . I fear there is too much money being made, to ever really change the status quo.

Something akin to Nikola Tesla being asked " If anyone can draw on the power , where do we put the meters ? "

Well if we too can draw on the power to heal ourselves, it leaves the large corporations out of pocket .

You can't prove that a non event was because of something you did.
As for claiming that not getting flu was because you had onions around.... I didn't have flu last year, or the year before, or the year before.... And I DON'T have onions around. The only constant in my life (and home) is my border collie. That must be it then. Border collies stop you getting flu!

reply to post by UmbraSumus

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Brilliant response ! The power of belief structures are everywhere ! Just look at the current health care reform attempt ! Still trying to stack non-truth's onto
non-truth's ! Another type of spell to sell !

There may be some truth in this as Onions can be used to absorb odours from the air, it would make sense that an airborne virus could also be absorbed (to some extent at least).

Onions absorb odours

I have some cut up, as far as its effectiveness, so far it seems to helping us as far as not getting others in house sick. Now, it makes sense to me because I remember an article a few months back (I'll have to look for it if anyone's interested). Anyway, it was about how when people get "food poisoning" at a restaurant it is often due to the onions. Some restaurants will chop the onions in the morning, put them into the refrigerator, and use them as needed throughout the day or two. The problem was that onion will absorb not only the odors, but bacteria and whatever else is floating around the unit. So, if they do this, why not take in a smaller virus?

edit to add: I found something on snopes they have given it a status of undetermined?!

[edit on 30-10-2009 by searching4truth]

[edit on 30-10-2009 by searching4truth]

Ya know...Onions are a great cure for all kinds of health problems..including sinus infections. So instead of placing them around the house..just eat one.

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